Today Governor Josh Stein announced more than $9.8 million in grants to fund 25 local parks and recreation projects across the state through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund.
PARTF is administered by North Carolina State Parks, a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
“North Carolina’s natural beauty and outdoor recreation help make our state such a great place to live, work, and visit,”said Governor Josh Stein.“These investments will support local economies, help bring more visitors to our state, and improve North Carolinians’ health and quality of life.”
Including the $4 million awarded through the Helene Recovery Fund earlier this year, PARTF has provided nearly $14 million in county and municipal grants this fiscal year.
With local match requirements, those grants will leverage $43.5 million in funding for land acquisitions, new facilities, and renovations or improvements for parks and recreation facilities across North Carolina.
The program’s total recurring funding is split across state parks and DuPont State Recreational Forest, local municipalities and counties, and public beach and coastal accesses.
Local communities apply to PARTF to fund land acquisition, new recreation facilities, or improvements to existing parks.
A maximum of $500,000 can be awarded to a single project, and the awardees must match funds dollar for dollar for the grant amount.
“Our communities thrive when they are able to strengthen public health and improve quality of life for their residents,”said DNCR Secretary Pamela Cashwell.“These grants bring much-needed parks, trails, and recreational facilities and a chance for people to connect with their neighbors.”
This year, PARTF considered 42 grant applications requesting a total of more than $15.5 million.
Of those, 25 projects were funded at the full request, and one was offered partial funding.
The Parks and Recreation Authority approved the grant recipients at its Aug. 28 meeting.
This year's 24 grant recipients:
Applicant
County
Project Name
Grant Amount
Alamance County
Alamance
Alston Quarter
$500,000
Town of Brookford
Catawba
Brookford Community Park
$193,031
Town of Cornelius
Mecklenburg
Land Acquisition for Cornelius Park
$500,000
City of Creedmoor
Granville
Creedmoor Community Center
$238,323
Currituck County
Currituck
Community Park
$500,000
City of Dunn
Harnett
C.B. Codrington Park Improvements
$500,000
Town of Elon
Alamance
Skatepark at Beth Schmidt Park
$362,500
Town of Garysburg
Northampton
Fig and Poplar Park
$339,225
Town of Granite Falls
Caldwell
Shuford Recreation Expansion
$371,950
Town of Jefferson
Ashe
Foster-Tyson Park / Northern Peaks State Trailhead Upgrade
$235,175
Town of Long View
Catawba
Long View Recreation Center
$187,425
Macon County
Macon
Veterans’ Memorial Park
$500,000
Town of Mars Hill
Madison
Bone Camp Creek on Bailey Mountain
$500,000
Morehead City
Carteret
Spooner Creek Conservation Nature Park
$500,000
Town of Nashville
Nash
Stoney Creek Environmental Park
$500,000
City of New Bern
Craven
Martin Marietta Park
$500,000
Town of Newport
Carteret
Newport Community Park
$390,000
Town of Norwood
Stanly
Lake Tillery Park
$294,325
Pender County
Pender
Abbey Nature Preserve Trailhead
$500,000
City of Salisbury
Rowan
Salisbury Event Center
$500,000
Town of Sandyfield
Columbus
Sandyfield Park
$197,146
Stokes County
Stokes
Francisco Park
$142,158
Town of Wallace
Duplin
Farrior Park
$356,131
Town of Warsaw
Duplin
Warsaw Memorial Park
$500,000
Yadkin County
Yadkin
Yadkin Memorial Park
$500,000
Total: $9,807,389
To see how the Stein Administration is investing in the state’s natural beauty in your county, check out the100 Counties Strong dashboard.